Woman charged for sunbathing topless on Jersey Shore loses appeal

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A Manhattan artist who once won a settlement for going topless in New York City must keep her top on at the Jersey shore.

A state appeals court Wednesday ruled against Phoenix Feeley's challenge to Spring Lake's public nudity ordinance.

Feeley was fined $750 for sunbathing topless on the beach and for dropping her top after her release in 2008.

The court dismissed her argument that the town's public nudity ordinance discriminated against women because men are permitted to appear topless. The court says “restrictions on the exposure of the female breast are supported by the important governmental interest in safeguarding the public's moral sensibilities.”

Feeley received a $29,000 settlement in 2007 after she was charged briefly with indecent exposure in New York City in 2005.